Refrigerator cabinet



Jan. 12, 1937. w. E. RICHARD REFRIGERATOR CABINET Filed Sept. 19, 1955 ATTORNEY Patented jan. 12, 193? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR CABINET William E. Richard, Galesburg, Ill.v

Application September 19, 1935, Serial No. 41,249

6 Claims.

` invention relates to improvements in refrigerator cabinets. It has for its principal object the reduction in the overall apparent height of the cabinet as compared with present cabinets.

Another object is to increase the size of the food compartment without increasing the overall size of the cabinet.

A further object is to provide a neat and inexpensive machine compartment cover, the operating parts being thereunder and totally enclosed thereby. Y Other objects will be apparent from the follow- 'ing specification.

The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination, location and relative arrangement of parts, all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth and as shown by the accompanying drawingand nally pointed out in the "appended claims.

20 In the drawing:

. Figure 1 is a front view of a cabinet embodying the invention; and

Figure 2 is a side view of the cabinet shown in Figure 1'.

The numeral I denotes a refrigerator cabinet the walls of which are heat insulated in any suitable manner. This cabinet has the usual food compartment II closed by the usual door I2. The top wall or" the food compartment has a central aperture or Well I3 therein adapted to receive a unit base I4, which spans the aperture, the edges of said base being supported on they cabinet walls. The iront wall extends upwardly as shown at Illa, the portion Il)b thereof forming a support for the front edge of the base I4. The side Walls extend upwardly as shown at I8, Id, the portions I0e and If supporting the side edges of base I4. The rear Wall II!g is cut off as shown in Figure 2 so that the back of the cabinet above I0g is open to take the condenser I8 and flue I9 to be presently described and to provide an outlet at each side of the condenser for cooling air, which may be drawn through the condenser and discharged around the sides thereof, suitable bailles (not shown) being provided to direct the air flow.

On base I4 is supported in any suitable manner a compressor unit I5 comprising a pump or compressor and a driving motor therefor, prefprably directly connected. As such units are well known and may be of any suitable construction, the unit is not described in detail.

Secured to this same base I4 and supported thereby is a motor I6 for driving a cooling fan enclosed in housing I'I of sheet metal for the purpose of cooling a condenser I8 of any suitable construction attached to the rear ends of base I4 which is cut out to straddle the condenser which lies partially in a plane with the rear wall of the cabinet.

Attached to the rear edge of base I4 is a metal flue or duct I9 open at 2D.

In some forms of construction the motor I6 and fan connected thereto are omitted, the condenser I8 being cooled by direct radiation only, or the cooling fan is mounted on the unit I5. Secured to the bottom of I4 is a metal casing 2| for the bottom of the compressor unit I5 and spaced apart from 2l so as to have an intervening air space for heat insulation is a U shaped wall 22 filled with suitable heat insulation forming Where the base I4 is in place, a portion of the top insulating wall of the food compartment II.

Attached to the bottom of wall 22 are the brackets 23 and 24 supporting the usual evaporator 25 located within the food chamber I I.

All of the spaces above the wall 22 may be termed the machine compartment. The space 2I may be in communication with the space above the base I4 by means of apertures 26 and 2'I therein so that free circulation of air may occur about the bottom of the compressor unit I5. The space 2I may be packed with heat insulation, or may be left open for air circulation.

The top of the cabinet is provided with a machine compartment cover 28 which ts over the upwardly projecting front and side Walls of the cabinet. This cover has laterally extending side portions 29 and 3 in which are louvres or holes 3| to permit air to circulate. The fan I'I may draw air in at 20 and discharge same through the louvres or the air ow can be reversed.

The cover 28 nts snugly around the housing for condenser I8 which together with ue I9 forms the back of the machine compartment.

The cover 28 has a central portion 32 adapted to receive the top of the unit I5, the entire cover being shaped as shown in the gures to have an attractive appearance and to remove the objection of an upwardly extending and exposed machine unit.

The usual connections between the compressor unit, the cooling fan, condenser and evaporator are not shown as these are obvious to those skilled in the art. Insulation such as rubber gaskets can be inserted at 33, 34, 35 and 36 to prevent heat leakage from the machine compartment to the food compartment. Instead of the wall 22 being made of sheet metal and filled with insulation in the usual manner, this U-shaped piece can be made of moulded composition of a heat insulating character with resilient gaskets at 33, 31E, 35 and 56 so as to effectually seal the machine compartment from the food compartment.

The cover 28 can be lifted off for inspection, and if necessary the base I e carrying all the working parts can be lifted out of the cabinet.

It will be apparent that by providing the top of the cabinet with the central aperture or well i3, and locating the mechanism partly therein and partially below the upper edges |05, I0c and Id of the cabinet walls, that the overall height of the cabinet is reduced as compared with refrigerators in which the machine compartment is either located below the food compartment near the floor, or above the top wall of the food compartment. In the latter case the compressor unit projects above the cabinet and the condenser Wrapped about the same is usually exposed or a shroud is necessary. The objections present in both said types of construction are eliminated by the present invention without Ladding to the cost of the complete refrigerator. Although the invention has been disclosed in connection with the specific details of preferred embodiments thereof, it must be understood that such details are not intended to be limitative of the invention except insofar as set forth in the accompanying claims. Y

' What is claimed 1. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having an aperture in its top insulating wall, aibase adapted to span said aperture, refrigerating mechanism mounted on said base and extending downwardly into said aperture below the upper edges of the side walls of the cabinet, a wall of insulating material supported by said base and spaced apart from said mechanism and eX- tending downwards into said aperture and adapted tol close the same and complete therewith the top insulating Wall of the cabinet, and an evaporator carried on said wall subjacent thereto.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein the base supports a condenser' positioned in a plane with the rear wall of the cabinet at the top thereof.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein the base supports a ue at the rear of the cabinet, said ue extending below the upper edge of the rear wall of the cabinet.

4i. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cabinet is provided with a cover adapted to enclose the refrigerating mechanism.

5. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a food compartment with insulated walls and an aperture in the top wall of said compartment, a base adapted to span said aperture, refrigerating mechanism mounted on said base outside said food compartment said mechanism having a part extending downwardly below the upper edges of the side walls of the cabinet, a wall of insulating material supported by said base and spaced apart from said mechanism extending downward below and underneath said mechanism into said food compartment, a casing about said mechanism and positioned between a vertical side wall thereof and said wall of insulating material supported on said base, and an evaporator in said food compartment and forming with said mechanism a structure adapted to be removed as a unit from the cabinet.

6. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a food chamber therein, said chamber having a top insulating wall and an aperture in said wall, a base adapted to span said aperture, a refrigerating unit including a compressor spaced apart from said top insulating wall and supported by said base in the aperture in said Wall, and driving means therefor, and an evaporator supported by said base, a condenser mounted on said base, a ue connected to said base Aand exf tending downwardly at the rear of vsaid'cabinet to a point below the upper edges of. thewalls of the food chamber, and a top for saidcabinet surrounding and enclosing said condenser and compressor.

WILLIAM E. RICHARD. 

